Chapter 1572: Fireworks for the Twilight of the Gods

The successful completion of the sacrificial ritual sent the festive atmosphere in the square soaring to its peak. The followers of the God of Abundance erupted in thunderous cheers, while the priests gathered around the altar began chanting the sacred names of the Three Goddesses in unison. A faint, shimmering radiance emerged above the statues of the Three Goddesses, enveloping the dais like a magnificent aurora. Then, grand classical music filled the air as the priestesses, playing the role of the goddesses’ messengers, approached from the far end of the square. Three groups of priests bearing offerings of incense, grains, and soil entered in procession. Everything unfolded strictly according to the sacred texts.

No one knew what exactly they had sent to the realm of the gods behind this stirring celebration.

In a tall tower at the edge of the square, Gawain stood by the window, smiling as he watched the festivities below. Beside him, Amber craned her neck forward, watching intently. After a long while, Amber muttered quietly, “The followers of the Three Goddesses are really numerous…”

“Indeed,” Gawain replied calmly with a faint smile. “The Three Goddesses of Abundance are among the most widely worshipped deities. Although their church isn’t as dominant as the Holy Light sect, their roots lie deep in the fundamental material needs of all living beings, so their influence spreads across the entire continent of Loren. Moreover, their history is exceptionally long—tracing back to a variant of the elven chief god Amon’s faith. This has cemented their influence firmly in the culture.”

He paused thoughtfully. “The reforms by the Divine Authority Council have been effective, and literacy campaigns have been ongoing for years, but it’s still far from enough to uproot such deeply ingrained beliefs. Even when many people clearly understand the nature of the church and the limitations of the gods, they still choose to visit churches and temples on their days off. Sometimes it’s for pure spiritual peace, other times simply out of habit.”

Amber raised an eyebrow. “The good news is that prayers born from seeking simple peace or habit don’t really create ideological echoes, right? Whether they admit it or not, the moment they learn the truth about the gods, most of them can no longer hold pure, devout faith… Doubt—even the slightest—creates a rift in the collective consciousness.”

“Exactly,” Gawain nodded. “The literacy campaigns have planted seeds of doubt about the divine in their hearts. No wonder some stubborn holdouts still call me ‘the evil spirit who brings doubt and decay to the world’ behind my back.” He chuckled, amused despite the insult. “Their description is actually quite accurate.”

Amber glanced sideways at him. “You’re not even mad about that? You know those people hate you so much it’s like their teeth itch, right?”

“They suffer greatly from their hatred, yet all they can do is watch this world thunder forward—first crushing them beneath its wheels, then leaving them far behind. Shouldn’t I feel immense joy over that?” Gawain said cheerfully. “Besides, as I said, their description is accurate. I am here to bring doubt. Doubt is one of the engines of progress. Those without doubt are either saints or fools… and saints are few and far between.”

Amber pursed her lips, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Her gaze drifted back to the square, and after a moment, she shook her head slightly. “Then let them revel in this one last intoxication. The Twilight of the Gods plan has begun. They won’t have many more chances to dream.”

Gawain ruffled her hair casually and turned back to the large device in the center of the room. After a few simple commands, he switched to another encrypted channel. The magical projection crystal flickered and refocused, revealing the images of Belsethia and Rosetta Augustus.

“The sacrificial ritual at the Cecil testing ground went smoothly. The ‘cargo’ has been fully delivered to the ‘client,’” Gawain nodded at the projection. “How are things on your end?”

“Everything is normal at the Aldern testing ground. The cargo has been delivered,” Rosetta responded first. “I was present at the ceremony, and neither the priests nor the congregation noticed any anomalies near the ritual site.”

“The royal court’s sacrificial ritual also proceeded without issue,” Belsethia smiled faintly. “I personally presided over the ceremony.”

“You presided yourself?” Gawain raised an eyebrow in surprise. Although it had been agreed that the three empires would each oversee their own testing grounds, he hadn’t expected the Silver Empress to take the lead personally. “You actually conducted the sacrificial ritual for the Three Goddesses of Abundance yourself?”

“That was a decision made after consulting with our theological advisors,” Belsethia explained. “The faith of the Three Goddesses evolved from the nature gods and has a complex cultural heritage within the Silver Empire. Although, for historical reasons, we officially recognize only the ‘Nature God’ as the state religion, most Silver Elves regard the Three Goddesses’ faith as a branch of the nature worship. From this perspective, it’s appropriate for me, as the High Priestess of the Nature God, to act as the proxy for the Abundance Maidens and lead the ritual.”

“As for my ability to conduct the ceremony… I have no doubts. At least on an intellectual level, I am a bona fide ‘high-ranking priestess.’”

Gawain frowned slightly, still a bit uneasy. “Is there no risk of ideological or faith-related interference?”

“No need to worry. The true power behind the ritual comes from the ordinary believers and the Three Goddesses themselves. All connections are established through them. I simply follow the ritual setup and direct the proceedings. Without considering ‘devotion,’ it’s purely a technical matter,” Belsethia smiled. “The ‘handover personnel’ we placed in secret warehouses operate the same way: they aren’t followers of the Three Goddesses, but they can still open the sacrificial channels by following the ritual steps.”

“…That makes sense,” Gawain nodded thoughtfully. “The cooperation of the Three Goddesses themselves is the key.”

Hearing Gawain mention the Three Goddesses’ cooperation, Rosetta stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder what’s happening in the divine realm right now… Over a hundred tons of ‘mundane armaments’ have been sent simultaneously from the three testing grounds. That’s a significant amount for a ‘test.’ Hopefully, the Three Goddesses won’t slip up.”

“Indeed,” Belsethia frowned slightly. “Although we preemptively separated the fuses for safety, once the cargo reaches the divine realm, the Three Goddesses themselves still need to reassemble and store it…”

If an ordinary believer stood here, they would never imagine that “even gods can make mistakes.” But none of the people here were devout followers. Whether Gawain, Rosetta, or Belsethia—the so-called “Saintess” and “Priestess”—all understood that gods, like mortals, have their limits and weaknesses. They bore no psychological burden in questioning the divine.

Yet it was precisely this fearless questioning that made them the ones who truly “worried” about the gods at this moment. They fretted like parents worried a child wielding a sword for the first time might accidentally hurt themselves. Still, Gawain reassured them with a smile: “I don’t think there’s any need to worry. The gods have all taken weapons maintenance classes—Rebecca personally taught them. And the Three Sisters of Abundance scored the highest in the simulation tests…”

“You actually ran simulation tests for the gods?” Rosetta blinked in surprise.

“Of course! How else would we know if they really mastered it? These are massive weapons capable of killing gods!” Gawain said matter-of-factly. “I arranged written exams and practical drills. Rebecca even spot-checked their class notes after each lesson. The Three Sisters of Abundance had the highest average scores and the most thorough notes, so Rebecca recommended them. Otherwise, why do you think we chose the Three Goddesses for the first round of testing?”

“…I thought it was just because the Renewal Festival was coming up,” Belsethia muttered in astonishment, then her lips twitched into a smile. “Truly impressive.”

Gawain: “…Why do you both look like that? Is there anything unreasonable about my approach? Taking notes in class, exams after lessons, practical skills, remedial lessons for mistakes—that’s just normal procedure…”

“Yes, yes, perfectly normal,” Belsethia’s expression wavered between amusement and disbelief. She sensed the Silver Empress was barely holding back a smile, her lips tight. “The Cecil Empire’s education system is world-leading, and the modern schools you founded are models for the Alliance nations. But I never expected even the gods to have to take notes and exams in your classrooms…”

Gawain laughed heartily. “You have to admit, it works.”

…

At the same time, far from the mortal world, deep within the chaotic abyss, a vibrant divine realm lay quietly beneath a dome of soft light.

Suddenly, a series of continuous flashes ignited within the luminous dome. Massive material transformations rippled across the dome’s surface, creating waves that lasted for over ten minutes before gradually subsiding.

Beneath the dome stretched endless fields, with two great rivers flowing and converging into a vast garden at the wilderness’s heart. Deep within the garden lay a large clearing between the rivers, where a banquet table was set. Countless ethereal spirits feasted and celebrated around the table. At its far end sat three vague, colossal figures—ethereal and holy, yet lacking vitality. These three watched the feast with divine yet cold, indifferent eyes, responding mechanically to the invisible prayers of their followers. Dark, blood-tinged vines crept silently from nearby bushes, winding around the feet of these half-human, half-stag sacred figures.

Outside the banquet garden, on a clearing at the edge of the vast wilderness, three women who looked almost identical to the sacred figures at the table were busy at work—Gaia, Eve, and Flora, the three sisters who had just returned from the assembly.

Before the sisters lay mountains of “cargo.”

Explosives transported from the mortal realm were piled high at the garden’s entrance. Massive ammunition crates and preassembled charge units were neatly stacked on the solid, carefully leveled ground. The spring goddess Flora looked up at these towering “mountains of explosives” and, after a long pause, let out a single breathless, “Wow…”

Then, the youngest and most lively of the three sisters stepped lightly over to the nearest large crate. Casually pulling off the wooden plank covering it, she reached inside and pulled out a cylindrical crystalline charge unit. With one foreleg resting on the crate, striking a pose, she deftly flipped the charge up and down in her hand. “Hmm, this batch is really high quality.”

“Where did you learn to sit like that? It’s so unladylike,” Gaia said, frowning as she was about to inspect the other “cargo.” “It looks downright crude. Put your hoof down.”

Flora quickly withdrew her leg, placing the charge unit back inside the crate as she lowered her head to explain, “Lord Amon was watching something called a ‘shadow play’ on the magic web…”

“The magic web is full of all sorts of complicated things. Amon is a mature deity; he knows what to make of it. But you don’t have to imitate everything you see,” Gaia immediately scolded her younger sister. “Come on, we have serious work to do.”

Flora obediently trotted back. Nearby, the harvest goddess Eve glanced at their eldest sister’s expression and awkwardly picked up a tray. “Where should this go?”

Gaia stared in disbelief at the tray in Eve’s hands—it was large compared to a human-sized plate, yet in Eve’s grasp it looked as small as a condiment dish. “…Why is there a tray here?”

“I accidentally brought it back with the offerings,” Eve said sheepishly. “And it’s not just the tray…”

Before she could finish, Flora’s voice came from nearby. The spring goddess had somehow returned to the towering pile of “cargo” and, after rummaging through it, made another discovery. “Why are there some bricks here?”

“The bricks probably came from the warehouse floor by accident,” Eve sighed, pulling out another item. “And I’ve got a shoe here too. No idea whose it is…”

Gaia was dumbfounded as her two younger sisters pulled all sorts of things from the “offerings.” Her expression shifted from awkward to stunned, then to a kind of numb disbelief. She heard Eve continue, “I suspect we brought back quite a few things, but overall it shouldn’t be too serious. Mostly small, inconspicuous trinkets or harmless ‘junk.’ After all… this time we opened three unprecedented sacrificial portals. The amount of material transmitted to the divine realm at once probably exceeds the total of the past thousand years combined…”

Gaia opened her mouth, then closed it again, finally muttering as if to comfort herself, “Yeah, the scale is huge, so… a few slip-ups in the chaos are probably inevitable, right?”

Flora glanced between Eve and Gaia, shrinking back a little under her sisters’ gazes. “…Do you think Rebecca will make me stay behind for extra lessons because of this?”

Gaia shook her head, half to reassure her sister, half to reassure herself. “No, it’s not that bad. We’re collecting experimental data. Mistakes are part of the experiment. Overall, this trial should be considered quite a success.”

Flora finally relaxed, then her eyes fell on the towering pile of explosives. “So… shall we begin now?”

Gaia glanced back toward the garden. The joyous yet meaningless feasting and drinking continued as it had for thousands of years, while the hollow divine avatars sat motionless where the sisters had been bound for millennia, coldly watching it all.

The “Earth Goddess” took a slow breath, her expression steadying.

“Let’s begin. Let us prepare a grand fireworks display for the coming Twilight of the Gods.”

(End of chapter)